Gluten-free Creamy Tuna Pasta
This creamy tuna pasta is the perfect way to use canned tuna! It’s a comforting one pot meal that’s gluten-free, and dairy-free.
Tuna noodle casserole is a comfort food classic! It’s made with egg noodles, canned tuna, a creamy sauce like a cream of mushroom soup, frozen peas, and breadcrumbs. Typically, it’s baked in the oven, the same concept as a one pot pasta is still just as amazing!
This stovetop tuna noodle casserole is a gluten-free take on a classic made with broccoli, gluten-free pasta, and a homemade creamy sauce! It’s the perfect way to use canned tuna for a comforting meal.
Why you’ll love this tuna pasta
- It’s a simple meal made with canned tuna. Canned tuna is the perfect easy protein. I definitely love a tuna salad (like my avocado tuna salad), but there’s so much more you can do with canned tuna! Whether or it be tuna pasta salad, or this creamy tuna pasta, it’s such a versatile protein!
- One pot wonder. The sauce and pasta are all cooked in one pot for ease of cooking and clean up.
- It’s packed with protein and veggies. With canned tuna and broccoli all in one easy pasta dish, this recipe is the perfect blend of comfort and nourishment.
- It’s gluten and dairy-free. This recipe is made with gluten free pasta and a creamy dairy free sauce!
Recipe Ingredients
- Canned tuna. I like using Safe Catch tuna for a lower mercury option.
- Coconut milk, broth & arrowroot starch. Rather than using a dairy-based sauce or a creamy canned soup, this simple mixture makes the sauce for the casserole as well as the cooking liquid for the pasta.
- Broccoli
- Nutritional yeast. This makes this recipe taste cheesy!
- Gluten-free (or cassava) pasta. Rather than using a veggie noodle-like zoodles, this recipe uses real pasta! The pasta pictures are Jovial gluten-free shells, but you can just as easily use cassava elbows to make it paleo and AIP.
How to make Stovetop Gluten Free Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Cook the vegetables: Use a large, deep pot heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes or until lightly translucent. Add the broccoli and saute for another 3-4 minutes or until the broccoli is lightly soft and bright green.
- Add the tuna: Drain the canned tuna and add to the pot. Using a wooden spoon to crumble the tuna into small chunks.
- Cook the pasta: Pour in the broth mixture and pasta. Stir well to combine. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, bringing the pot to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10-12 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce is reduced. See notes in the pasta needs more time to cook to your liking.
Recipe & Tricks
- Stir, stir, stir! One pot pastas dishes aren’t really set it and forget it type of meals. They cook quickly, but they do need to be stirred often to ensure that the sauce thickens and that the pasta cooks well.
- Add extra vegetables. Mushrooms and peas would be a great addition to this dish.
Can you make this recipe coconut-free?
The coconut milk is the dairy substitute in this recipe and I haven’t tried to use something other than coconut in this recipe. The next best option would be oat milk.
What if you want to add some crunch?
If you want something like breadcrumbs on top, you can try adding gluten-free bread crumbs, or crumbled crackers, or crumbled plantain chips!
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Healthier Stovetop Tuna Noodle Casserole {Gluten & Dairy Free}
This stovetop tuna noodle casserole is a healthier take on a comfort food classic. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and can be made paleo and AIP.
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- ½ white onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup fine broccoli florets
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper, omit for AIP
- 2 5 oz cans of tuna
- 1 ¼ cup full fat coconut milk, I use this
- 2 ¼ cup chicken broth
- 2 cups gluten-free shell pasta, Jovial rice pasta for gluten-free, or jovial cassava pasta for paleo/AIP
- 1 –2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Use a large, deep pot heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the onion and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes or until lightly translucent. Add the broccoli and saute for another 3-4 minutes or until the broccoli is lightly soft and bright green. Season with salt and pepper.
- Drain the canned tuna and add to the pot. Using a wooden spoon to crumble the tuna into small chunks.
- Pour in the broth and coconut milk into the pot and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, add the pasta. Allow to simmer for about 10-12 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked. When the pasta is just about done, stir the pot continuously for 1 minute to allow the sauce to reduce. See notes if the pasta needs more time to cook to your liking.
- Stir in nutritional yeast to taste and serve topped with parsley!
Notes
If the pasta needs more time to cook to your liking, add about 1/4 cup of broth and simmer for 2-3 more minutes until the pasta reaches your desired doneness.
All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 475kcal, Carbohydrates: 32.6g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 28.1g, Fiber: 2.2g
All nutrition facts are estimated and will vary.
Did you Make this Recipe?Tag @unboundwellness on Instagram and hashtag #unboundwellness!
This recipe was originally published in 2020 and updated in 2024.
This was really delicious!
Have you tried without Nutritional Yeast? It’s the one ingredient that hurts our stomach so I was hoping I could do it without it
It should work just fine without it!
This was a hit with my family! We all enjoyed it so much! 🙂 my hubs does not like tuna noodle, but really enjoyed this one so much he said so and ate it two days in a row it was fun to eat and my toddler enjoyed it too!
Really thankful to find yummy recipes that are allergy friendly for my family and me!
Thank you Becca! So glad you and your family enjoyed! 🙂
The updated recipe doesn’t show arrowroot. I can’t remember how much I used before.
Hi there! The updated recipe just adjusts the liquid so you don’t need the arrowroot 🙂 You can still add a arrowroot slurry of 1 tsp at a time if you wind up needing it!
This is so easy and amazing!!! Thank you Michelle!!
Thank you so much!!
Soo freaking good. Just meal prepped for this week and I’m in love with this recipe. I added a tiny bit of lemon but other than that the recipe was kept the same. I’m looking forward to this meal
Yay, so glad!!
I have made this numerous times. It has turned out very good. Left overs have been very good.
So glad!!
This was yummy!! It’s like a healthier version of tuna helper, which I haven’t had in years! I used a frozen veggie mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, since I didn’t have any fresh broccoli. (I left the veggies whole.) Thank you for a tasty and easy recipe!
Thank you so much!!
I was a little skeptical of this recipe because of the coconut milk— oh my gosh, I had no need to be. Absolutely delicious. I forgot to add the nooch and the parsley at the end and it was still delightful. Definitely adding this to the rotation, thank you so much!
Thank you!!
Could this be made with a different kind of milk? I’m not a huge fan of coconut milk.
I haven’t tried another kind of milk in this recipe! You may be able to use another dairy-free milk, but it won’t be as creamy.
Crazy easy and crazy delicious !
thank you!!
Can this be frozen?
I have been so uninspired to cook lately until I saw this! Made it for dinner tonight. My tummy is so happy! This will definitely be in the rotation.
Just made this recipe last night and it was So yummy! My husband and I had just been talking about tuna noodle casserole last week so when i saw your post on Instagram I had to make it for dinner. The only thing I did different was use green lentil rotini noodles – it was a weird color but still delish!
Yay!! So glad it turned out well!!